US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad had been set to brief Senators today. Democratic aides tell RAW STORY that the meeting, set to address "all members," was cancelled abruptly yesterday. Requests for a briefing by another administration official went unanswered.

Portion of the letter:

Dear Mr. President:

Today the Senate was expecting to receive a classified briefing from Ambassador Khalilzad on recent developments in Iraq. Yesterday, however, we learned that Ambassador Khalilzad was not available to conduct this briefing and the Administration was unwilling to make other officials available to brief in his place. Given the recent escalation of violence, the increasing risk to U.S. forces, and the failure of the Iraqis to agree on two of the most important Cabinet positions, we are concerned that not a single national security official from your Administration was willing to appear before a bipartisan group of Senators to explain your strategy in Iraq.

This decision is even more troubling when you consider that in the first five months of this year, officials from your cabinet have appeared only sporadically before the Senate to discuss Iraq. In this time, close to 300 troops have died, Iraqis have failed to stand up a unity government, and sectarian violence has increased considerably. Meanwhile, the Congress was asked to appropriate another $60 billion for the war, pushing the total expenditures for Iraq well over $300 billion.

"As a matter of general principle, I believe that there can be no doubt that criticism in time of war is essential to the maintenance of any kind of democratic government. . . Too many people desire to suppress criticism simply because they think it will give some comfort to the enemy to know that there is such criticism. If that comfort makes the enemy feel better for a few moments, they are welcome to it as far as I am concerned, because the maintenance of the right of criticism in the long run will do the country maintaining it a great deal more good than it will do the enemy, and it will prevent mistakes which might otherwise occur."
-Robert A. Taft, Republican Senator from Ohio, Dec. 19, 1941

"Secrecy and a free, democratic government don't mix."
-Harry S. Truman, US President

"A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it."
-George W. Bush, Business Week, July 30, 2001